Best Way to Store Gold and Silver
Precious metals are widely recognized as safe haven assets. Furthermore, these highly valuable commodities must be stored properly to preserve their condition and resilience.
How you store gold and silver depends entirely upon your individual circumstances, but here we will examine some of the more popular storage methods.
Secretive Storage
Home storage of precious metals is one of the easiest and safest methods of keeping bullion safe, without needing third party management. Furthermore, direct access allows direct management and provides easy access to your bullion. However, home storage may also be riskier than bank storage as banks only open during certain hours, not always being available when emergencies arise and homeowner policies typically exclude coverage for jewelry and valuables.
If you plan on keeping your gold and silver at home, ensure it remains secret from prying eyes by hiding it somewhere out of sight or using security boxes designed specifically to hold coins and bars – these have tamper-proof seals to guarantee the safety of your bullion.
Bank Storage
People invest in silver and gold bullion as an insurance policy against future financial crises, but to do so successfully they must safeguard it against theft, disasters and other hazards. Ideally it should be stored somewhere secure that is difficult to access.
At home, there are various methods available to store silver and gold. While some homeowners’ insurance policies will cover such storage methods as locked safes or secret locations, these may not offer as much security than banks do.
Security boxes that feature tamper-proof seals are another popular storage option, available online retailers specializing in precious metals. However, one disadvantage of using such storage methods is having to travel out to access your investment – an extra expense and inconvenience that must also be reported to the IRS if used for investment-grade precious metals.
Vault Storage
Customers often opt for this storage method due to its convenience, as they can access their bullion at any time. However, it is important to remember that having more accessible precious metals means they may become vulnerable to theft or natural disasters that could damage them further.
Some customers can create safe hiding spots at home for their precious metals, such as in a secret safe within their walls or buried underground on private property. Customers opting for this method typically invest in fireproof and waterproof storage options that incur an additional cost beyond their homeowner insurance premium.
As a rule, customers who opt for this form of storage should inform as few people as possible of where you keep your precious metals – in particular at home storage locations we suggest not sharing the location with any family member, including spouses.
Private Storage
Some customers prefer storing their silver bullion at home because it’s cheaper and gives them greater control, however this method can be risky requiring an expensive safe as well as extra insurance coverage to prevent theft or loss of precious metals due to exposure to moisture or any corrosives such as humidity.
Maintaining your collection can also be challenging due to sulfur compounds present in fossil fuels, certain foods (particularly alliums like garlic and onions), rubber products and latex; exposure to such compounds causes silver tarnish.
Home storage may attract unwanted attention if you are an individual with high wealth or fame; such individuals often become targets for theft and burglaries with potential thieves scouring social media for images of valuable items to steal. Therefore, it is wise to inform as few people as possible of your plans – even trusted family or friends can lead to problems; private non-bank vaults provide the ideal solution.
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